As is described in IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems, vol. 10, No. 3, September 2001, microscopically small air channel structures for microfluid, microelectromechanical and microelectronic applications may be formed with the help of sacrificial polymer structures on semiconductor chips. However, the problem of the crossover from media channels to the top sides of the semiconductor chips in suitably adapted channels of a plastic housing mass is not solved with these structures. Thus the problem of supplying and removing microfluid media to and from the semiconductor chips within a plastic housing mass remains unsolved.
The publication DE 103 10 615 B3 discloses a biochip and a method of manufacturing same, where open microchannels are introduced into a photoresist layer on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, and these open microchannels are then covered by a joint or individual covering panel. This method is also limited to the manufacture of microchannels on a semiconductor wafer and/or on a semiconductor chip and does not solve the problem of the crossover from the microchannels on the semiconductor chip to adapted media channels in a plastic housing mass.
The publication DE 102 46 283 B3 discloses metallic sacrificial parts which are embedded in a plastic housing mass of a semiconductor component to then produce channels and cavities in the semiconductor housing of a plastic housing mass by etching away the metallic sacrificial parts. These semiconductor components have the disadvantage that the channels cannot be manufactured in just any channel structure because before embedding them in a plastic housing mass, metallic sacrificial parts must be prefabricated and prepared and then adjusted, applied and finally embedded in the plastic housing mass. Etching away the metal parts after embedding them in the plastic housing mass is also not without problems.
For biosensors, gas sensors or fluid sensors, however, the liquids or gases should be supplied and removed again through defined areas of a semiconductor chip. Supplying such media thus constitutes a problem, especially since corresponding channels and cavities must also be produced over the sensor area in a semiconductor housing. The channels must be laid out in such a way that areas of the component that should not come in contact with the media are reliably sealed. These problems are not solved with the sensors mentioned above because they are limited to channel structures and cavities on semiconductor chip surfaces and do not take into account the required channels and cavities in the plastic housing mass or they solve the problem of these crossovers with complex sacrificial metal structures.
The methods of manufacturing media channels mentioned above also have the following disadvantages:                1. the processes used are not standard assembly processes and are not compatible with existing semiconductor technology processes;        2. the methods mentioned above are suitable only for a small number of parts because they have a low degree of automation and therefore cannot be used for mass production; and        3. the miniaturization possibilities of the methods mentioned above are extremely limited because of the required coverage of open media channels or because of the installation of sacrificial metal parts.        
The methods mentioned above are associated with high assembly costs.